As the holiday season approaches, local markets offer community members an opportunity to support small businesses while still shopping for unique gifts.
The Rivet Winter Market, held Nov. 7 to 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Discovery Space and The Rivet, brought together a variety of local vendors who offered handmade goods and seasonal items, along with food stands serving homemade meals and treats. The event provided shoppers with an opportunity to explore local businesses, meet vendors and experience the creativity of the State College community.
Among the vendors was Chelsea Aukerman, a Penn State alumna and owner of The Bent Fender Jewelry LLC.
“I started in 2023, and I have a friend who makes cremation jewelry, and I’ve always wanted to do spoon rings,” Aukerman, 37, of Woodward, Pennsylvania, said. “I ended up buying a vendor. I bought a couple spoons and just tried it.”
Aukerman said the process involved trial and error, figuring out what worked and what didn’t. After making her first pieces, she began selling them at work, which helped her business grow.
Today, the company offers a wide variety of handmade products.
“I have earrings, necklaces, purse hooks and I started to do Christmas ornaments,” Aukerman said. “My purse hooks are really popular on Etsy because they make really great gifts.”
Participating in vendor events, such as The Rivet Winter Market, provides Aukerman with an opportunity to promote her business and reach new customers.
“No matter what vendor event you go to, you’re putting yourself out there,” Aukerman said. “It’s spreading your name out, getting yourself out there and talking to people. That’s what really helps boost your business.”
Artists Serge and Arle Bielanko promote their artistic works at the Rivet Winter Market, located at 1224 North Atherton Street, State College, Pa., on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026.
Beyond creating unique jewelry, Aukerman hopes customers find sentimental value in the pieces they purchase. Through repurposing silverware, she transforms family heirlooms into jewelry that can be kept for years.
“I hear stories all the time from people like, ‘My mom had a spoon ring’ or ‘My grandma had a spoon ring,’ so these things are definitely transferable through generations,” Aukerman said.
Eric Tobert, the owner of Phoenix Woodcraft, said his business originally began as a hobby when he was searching for materials for his personal projects.
“I was looking for a way to find cheaper wood for my own personal use and then discovered all this beautiful wood at low prices and decided to try and keep it out of the landfill,” Tobert, 51, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, said.
Today, Phoenix Woodcraft repurposes used and recycled furniture into a variety of handmade kitchen and household products. The company offers cutting boards, magnetic knife blocks, trivets and picture frames.
Artist Jai Watson shares her handmade earrings at the Rivet Winter Market located at 1224 North Atherton Street, State College, Pa., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. Watson began creating clay jewelry about two years ago, as she found it a highly therapeutic process.
At the market, Tobert said Phoenix Woodcraft can connect with potential customers and introduce people to its products.
“It gets you a lot of contacts that you’re not going to see otherwise,” Tobert said. “A lot of people take a business card and think about products that they might be interested in when they get home and then either contact us later or show up at another show.”
Beyond selling handmade products, Tobert hopes customers understand the importance of reusing materials and reducing waste. By turning old wood into new items, Phoenix Woodcraft gives discarded materials another purpose.
“Everything we do is an attempt to keep this old wood and all these useful products out of the landfill and give them a new life where they can be used again for 10, 20, 30 years or more,” Tobert said.
Katie Molinengo, the owner of Rooted in the Forest, draws inspiration from nature to create handmade products for the home.
Molinengo specializes in items inspired by a cabin lifestyle, offering pottery and pottery candles with a forest-inspired aesthetic.
Her interest in creating candles began as a personal hobby, eventually developing into a business that combines her love for art and nature.
“I have an MFA in painting, so it was starting with landscape painting,” Molinengo, 36, of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, said. “I just love making candles, so I just wanted to make them for myself, but then it fused together to make a whole matching aesthetic.”
Like other vendors at the market, Molinengo said participating in the market helps build brand recognition through social media and word of mouth.
“I’ve run into people that said they’ve heard about Rooted in the Forest before, and I don’t remember actually meeting them,” Molinengo said. “That’s great, it sells out, and I’m always like, ‘This is good.’”
Molinengo hopes her creations bring a sense of comfort into people’s homes.
“It’s an experience for the home,” Molinengo said. “I think it makes the setting cozy, having a connection to nature.”
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